


Ghosts of the Past

by Cadburytrooper96



Series: Tougher Than Earth, Hotter Than Fire [6]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Insecurity, Light Angst, Lin and Iroh II are their kids, Supportive Toph, Zuko feels like he's as bad as his father
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 10:36:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15071396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cadburytrooper96/pseuds/Cadburytrooper96
Summary: A request from his daughter makes Zuko doubt his fathering abilities. Toph is there to reassure him.





	Ghosts of the Past

"You want to what?" Zuko asked as he stared at his daughter. He and Toph were saying goodnight to the children before bed. It was a nighttime tradition that they had kept up since the children were born regardless of how busy they were. Being a ruler was hard but Zuko was determined to make sure that his children knew how loved and special they were every night.

"I want to spar with you." Lin replied, sitting up and looking at her father. "I need to know how to fight against fire benders and Iroh's just learning how to fire bend."

Zuko looked at his wife. "Toph did you know about this?" He asked. Toph was sitting on the edge of the bed, her feet on the floor. 

She shook her head. "No but it is a smart decision. I'm proud she thought that far." Toph said. Zuko glared at her.

"No." Zuko replied, hoping that it would put an end to his daughter’s questions. It didn’t. 

Lin frowned. "But father, I'll be careful I promise." She pleaded. Zuko looked at his daughter. She was only ten but he already knew she was going to be an amazing earth bender. She'd discovered her skill at just five and ever since, she hadn't let up. Toph was training her in earth and she'd shown amazing promise but she hadn't gone against any other element.

He'd understand if she went against air or even water but definitely not fire. Toph gently placed a hand on her husband's arm. "Zu, spar with her. It'll be harmless." Toph prodded. Zuko felt himself start to soften up when Lin spoke up again.

"Yeah. I promise not to get burnt." She said. The image of Ozai blasting a fire ball at his face and the searing pain that followed flashed through Zuko's mind so intensely that he winced. He pulled away from Toph and stood. "No, Lin and that's final." He said firmly. Before Toph could say a word, he'd walked off leaving Toph and their daughter staring after him.

* * *

 

"What do you want Zuko?"

Zuko sighed. He was beginning to ask himself the same question. Azula sat down in front of her brother, her wrists chained to the chair. After her breakdown, Azula had never been the same. It took a while before she was termed 'sane' but she'd never recovered. She still had occasional bursts of anger which tended to cause a lot of damage.

The only reason why Zuko hadn't let Aang take her bending away was because he thought it would break her completely. "Can't I see you out of my own free will?" Zuko replied. 

Azula scoffed. "You only come here when you want to get away from something. What's wrong? Your Earth Kingdom whore finally left you?" She asked mockingly.

Zuko took in a deep breath. "She's not a whore. You should count yourself lucky that I don't bring her here." He replied. 

Azula rolled her eyes. "How is father?" She asked out of the blue. Zuko's jaw instinctively tightened and Azula smirked.

"So, this is about father then." She said in a nasty voice. "Your daddy issues finally coming back to haunt you?" She taunted. 

Zuko stood up. "I don't know why I keep coming to see you when it's obvious that you're never going to change." He snapped at her. Azula only let out a mocking laugh.

"You keep coming back because no matter how hard you try, you can never run away from your past." Azula sneered. "Like it or not Zuzu, father and I are just a part of you that's dying to come out. Who knows, maybe one of these days you'll end up marking one of your bra-"

The words didn't make it out of her mouth because Zuko had his hand wrapped around her throat. "Don't you  **ever**  compare me to Ozai." He growled. Azula smiled at him. "Or what? You'll kill me? Go ahead Zuko. Kill me." She replied. Zuko took in deep breaths, his body trembling.

His hand slowly loosened from Azula's neck and she scoffed again. "Weak." She murmured under her breath. Zuko turned around and began to walk away. "Only a matter of time Zu!" Azula called out after him.

* * *

Toph loosened her hair as she walked into her bed chambers. It had been a long and tiring day in the palace. Zuko had vanished and she'd been busy with Republic city and their children.  _I wonder what got into him_ _yesterday_ _._  Something was wrong with her husband. He wasn't a ball of fun and sunshine but he wasn't the moody prince he'd once been either.

Her feet found the way to her bed and she slid in. Her hands hit Zuko's body and she adjusted herself. The duo lay in silence for a few seconds before Toph decided to speak up.

"What happened last night?" She asked softly.

 Zuko turned to her. "What do you mean?" He asked. 

Toph frowned. "Don't play dumb with me. Something happened to you yesterday. Your heartbeat picked up, you stiffened up then you practically ran out of the room. What's going on?" She asked.

Zuko went quiet and Toph patiently waited for him to speak. "I went to see Azula today." Zuko finally said. Toph held back her comments and kept quiet. "She told me that there was a part of Ozai and her in me that would eventually come out and that someday I'd end up hurting the children." Zuko said softly.

Rage welled up in Toph and she had to restrain herself from getting up from the bed and finishing Zuko's sister off. She nodded at Zuko to continue whilst thinking of ways to make sure his sister never saw him again.

"My hands were around her throat before I could even blink." Zuko murmured. 

"Did you kill her?" Toph asked with a hint of hope in her voice. 

"No." Zuko replied. 

Toph fell silent for a few more moments before speaking up again. "Do you want me to? I could make it look like an accident." She asked with mock innocence. 

Despite the situation, Zuko couldn’t help but laugh. "No, I think it'll be pretty obvious." He replied with a smile. 

Toph shrugged. "It was worth a shot." She wrapped her arms around Zuko and rested her head on his body.

"She's insane. What's scarier is that she's still so manipulative." Toph said. "Ozai may be your father but I've never seen him in you."

Zuko's arms slipped around Toph. "It's easy for you to say, Toph. You didn't witness how many times I tried to kill Aang." He said in a sad tone.

"I said I never saw him in you. I didn't say you were perfect." Toph shot back. "You're not perfect. Your temper is still as bad as it used to be and you still tend to see the worst in everything, albeit you smile a bit more often now but you are miles away from being Ozai. Your sister just said it because it riles you up." Toph said in a soothing tone.

"But...what if I hurt her?" Zuko asked. It took Toph a few seconds before the pieces finally came together in her mind and she hugged Zuko tighter to her. 

"Oh, Zuko." She said softly. "Your father burnt you out of hate and spite.  **If**  in the course of sparring with Lin, you burn her, it'll be because you're training her and it would never be as bad as what Ozai did."

Zuko made a move to talk but Toph interrupted him. "How many times have we sparred? Even when we were younger. How many times have you poured out all that anger and frustration out on me?" She asked gently. 

"More times than I can count." Zuko admitted. 

"And have you ever even left a mark on me?" Toph asked and again, Zuko shook his head.

"No but you could bury me if you wanted to. Lin doesn't have that kind of skill." He protested. 

"And you'll adjust for her." Toph replied. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll be there during your sparring matches but I will not let your fears get the better of you on this." It was said in a gentle voice but Zuko knew she was being serious.

His hand went to her hair and he stroked it. "You'll be there?" He asked. 

"Through out. I'll watch every move." Toph said reassuringly. Zuko said nothing more but Toph knew she'd won him over. She cuddled up closer to him and Zuko held her tighter.

* * *

 

Toph yawned tiredly as she and Zuko made their way to the children's room. They were woken up by servants but the Fire Lord and Fire Lady like to see them before the day started knowing they might not get the chance to see the two until they sent them off to sleep.

Zuko opened the door and peeked in expecting to see the children awake. Instead, he was met by empty beds. "Toph, can you feel the children nearby?" Zuko asked, a hint of trepidation in his voice. 

Toph frowned. "No I can't. They're not here?" She asked.

"No." Zuko replied and Toph felt fear rise in her. 

She was just about to panic and run out of the room when she felt a small tremor run through the floor. "I think I've got something. It's coming from the training grounds." She said to her husband and immediately the duo ran towards the location, all sense of propriety lost.

The royal couple ran out to the training grounds poised for battle but the scene in front of them stopped them in their tracks. It was their children bending. Zuko stared in awe as his son fire bent. He and Lin were sparring and Iroh was on the offence.

He was firing small fire streams coupled with fire jabs to the earth to keep Lin off balance. In turn, Lin had brought up an earth shield and was launching small pieces of rock at her younger brother.

"And you were afraid that they won't be able to handle sparring." Toph said in a playful voice as she and Zuko linked fingers. 

"How long have they been doing this?" Zuko asked ignoring his wife's side comment. 

Toph chuckled. "I have no idea. I'm not behind everything you know." She said. One of Lin's rocks hit Iroh and he stumbled. Before he could hit the ground, Toph had used the earth to push him back up. 

Lin spun around to see her parents watching her. "I didn't mean to hurt him." She said quickly, her eyes wide in fear.

"Of course you didn't. You did well my little princess." Toph said with a smile as she moved away from Zuko and walked towards her children. 

"Mother could you see us?" Iroh asked as he ran into his mother's arms. Unlike Zuko, Iroh was a huge ball of fun. Toph had no doubt that it'll change once he grew up more and realized his role as a member of the royal family but she treasured moments like these when he was still young and innocent.

"Yes, I could. In a way." Toph replied as she hugged her son close to her. 

"I didn't know your fire streams were that strong, Iroh." Zuko said as he came up to his family. 

"I've been practising with Lin." Iroh declared enthusiastically. 

"Really now?" Zuko said with a smile as he looked at his daughter.

Lin smiled up at her father. "Well, there was no one to practice with and he's getting really good at it." She said. 

Zuko drew his daughter in his arms. "How about we practice today?" He said to her. 

Lin's eyes lit up. "Really?" She asked hopefully. Zuko nodded and she hugged him. "Thank you." She said. 

"Besides, Iroh was getting too close to your feet. He could've burnt you." He said.

"Not like you haven't burnt people's feet in the past." Toph said slyly to him. 

Zuko coloured slightly. "Not the only thing of yours I've burnt." He counteracted and Toph flushed.

"Zuko!" She exclaimed scandalously and Zuko chuckled.

* * *

Three years later

* * *

 

"Finish him Lin!" Toph yelled to her daughter as she sparred with Zuko. The Fire Lord barely had the time to shot a glare at his wife before he felt himself propelling through the air. As a last minute result, he used his fire to propel himself forward and he landed on his feet.

"How did you do that?!" Iroh said with excitement as he came toward his father. 

"Fire bending. I'll teach you when you're older." Zuko replied as he squeezed his son's shoulder. 

"That was unfair." Lin exclaimed as she also came towards Zuko.

"Well sparring isn't fair, Lin." Zuko shot back. Lin scowled and he chuckled. "You did really well. I'm proud of you." He said as he hugged her. She beamed at him and Zuko kissed the top of her head.

* * *

Aang smiled as he watched Zuko and his children.  _And to think he was terrified of becoming a father, he's a natural._  The memory of a terrified Zuko running to him for help when he'd discovered Toph was pregnant and Aang couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny Twinkle Toes?" Toph sniped. 

"When are you going to let go of that nickname?" Aang asked. 

"When you grow out of it." Toph shot back. Zuko and the children walked up to the duo and Aang ignored Toph's comments.

"Uncle Aang!" The children exclaimed as they launched themselves at the Avatar. "Is Tezin here?" Lin asked as she pulled back. Aang nodded and she took off and Iroh followed. 

"She and him are like you and Katara when you were younger." Toph remarked as she gave Zuko a hug.

Zuko returned the hug with a frown his mind going to Lin and Iroh. "How are our children anything like him and Katara?" He asked. 

Toph chuckled. "Lin and Tezin, dear." She said. 

Zuko's eyes widened in alarm. "I-What? They're not-They're still children." He said, his speech halting. Toph snickered.

"Well that's how Katara and I started." Aang said with a shrug. "It's not that bad. He's my son." He added, noticing the horror on his best friend's face. 

"It's because of that I'm worried. Agni knows what you and Katara would've gotten up to if not for Sokka." Zuko retorted. Toph snorted and Aang had enough shame to blush.

"Like you and Toph weren't worse." He mumbled. 

"True." Toph said as the trio began to stroll down the hallways. As Toph and Aang playfully squabbled, Zuko's mind went back to his sister's words. She was right. She and Ozai were a part of him but they were his  **past**. This was his present and his future and he couldn't be more happy about it.


End file.
